Trace Adkins says he has forgiven his second wife, Julie Lauren Curtis, for shooting him through the heart and lungs during an argument more than three decades ago.
The country singer revisited the near-fatal 1994 incident during a July 28 appearance on This Past Weekend With Theo Von.
Although Adkins joked that Curtis “took it a little far,” he also described the point-blank gunshot as a “kill shot” that he would not have survived without emergency medical care.
Adkins declined to press charges after the shooting. He now says he does not believe Curtis fully understood what the gun would do when she pulled the trigger.
Adkins Does Not Believe Curtis Intended to Kill Him
“That took it a little far, I thought,” he told Theo Von. “That was uncalled for. That was totally uncalled for. Just leave. Let’s just call it quits, and we don’t have to go that far.” According to Adkins, Curtis was angry and wanted him to leave their home, but he refused. During the argument, she placed the gun beneath his left arm. When he told her to give it to him, she fired.
Adkins previously said the confrontation began with an argument about his drinking and escalated into a physical struggle as he attempted to disarm her. The weapon was a .38-caliber pistol. More than 30 years later, Adkins believes Curtis may not have understood the force of the gun or the consequences of pulling the trigger.
“I’d never seen her hold a gun. I’d never seen her shoot a gun,” he said. “I knew she had one, but I’d never seen her use it.” “I don’t think she knew what was about to happen when she pulled that trigger,” he continued. “She thought it was a toy.”
The Bullet Passed Through His Heart and Lungs
The bullet entered beneath Adkins’ left arm and exited beneath his right after passing through his heart and lungs. Adkins said his body immediately went into shock, preventing him from initially feeling the full extent of the injury. He remembered standing after the gunshot, taking several steps and then collapsing.
Emergency responders airlifted him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where doctors performed emergency open-heart surgery. “It was a kill shot,” Adkins said.
He recalled being told that he survived partly because the gun had been pressed so close to his body that the bullet traveled through him at muzzle velocity before it had time to expand. “If it hadn’t been for that Life Flight and Vanderbilt Medical Center, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
Adkins also described the recovery as more painful than the initial gunshot. He continues to see a heart specialist for regular examinations because of the damage caused by the wound.
He Declined to Press Charges and Later Forgave Curtis
The couple had married in 1991 and divorced later in 1994. He said forgiveness became possible because he did not believe she had deliberately calculated what firing the weapon would do to him. “She thought I was indestructible,” Adkins said.
Adkins offered a similar perspective while discussing his history of near-fatal accidents with People in 2022. He said physical trauma had ultimately affected him less deeply than the emotional damage caused by failed relationships. “The physical pain, broken bones and surgeries and bullets and getting beat up and cut, has never really bothered me,” he said. “It’s the broken hearts that left the deepest scars.”
Adkins later married Rhonda Forlaw, with whom he shares three daughters. He also has two daughters with his first wife, Barbara Lewis. Adkins married actress Victoria Pratt in New Orleans in October 2019, with longtime friend Blake Shelton officiating the ceremony.
Adkins Is Marking 30 Years Since His Debut Album
Adkins moved to Nashville in 1992 and signed with Capitol Nashville after surviving the shooting. His debut album, Dreamin’ Out Loud, arrived in 1996 and produced the hits “Every Light in the House,” “I Left Something Turned On at Home” and “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing.”
He is celebrating three decades as a recording artist with the Trace Adkins 30th Anniversary Tour, featuring songs from across his career. Adkins also released “American Made” on June 26. He gave the patriotic single its nationally televised debut during PBS’ A Capitol Fourth: 250th Weekend Celebration on July 3.